Expanded-metal lath



nNTTan sTaTas 'PATENT @FFHCCEO' CLARENCE DICKIB'TSON, OF YOUNGSTOWN,OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 THE YOUNGSTOWN PRESSED STEEL COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN,OHIO, A. CORPORATION OE OHIO.

EXPANDED-IVIETAL LATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led June 2, 1920. Serial No. 385,896.

.To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CLARENCE W. DioxinsoN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Youngstown in the county of Mahoning and Stateof hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inExpanded-Metal Laths, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in expanded sheet metallathing and aims to provide a construction which will produce a ribbedstructure which will be of maximum stiffness or rigidity while requiringa minimum amount of metal. rIhe invention further aims to provide .aconstruction in which the ribbed portions will be of reticulated or openwork nature as well as the remaining portions of the sheet so that theentire extent thereof will be open to the free passage of the plasterand in which there will be no solid portions which divide the plasterinto strips or which tend to cut the plaster in any way.

Ribbed or trussed expanded sheet metal lathing as heretofore produced,so far as I am aware, has generally been of two types. One of thesetypes is known as the herringbone type but in such lathing the meshesare usually too large and if made smaller, the lath requires too muchmetal for its construction, utilizes too much plaster, and the solidsections of metal intervening between the rows of expanded portionsdivide the plaster into strips and tends also to cut it.

The other type is what is known as the diamond mesh type, in which ithas been proposed to provide diagonally arranged continuous beamportions and to raise the general plane of the lath from the carryingsurface by pressing or deflecting the reticulated metal to form diagonalribs embodying such beam portions, the ribs being formed of two walls ofopen work metal.

Such construction is open to the objection that the corrugations bybeing diagonally arranged do not reach from one support to another so asto give the required sti'ness to the sheet between the supports. It alsorequires too much metal to form the double wall of the rib, and the beamportions referred to are double and tend to separate the plaster.

My said invention avoids the objections above set forth and it includesthe novel construction hereinafter described and particularly defined bythe appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 1s a plan view or surface portion of a. sheet to illustrate theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

F Figi 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 is a sectional viewof the lath in place against a supporting wall with the plaster appliedthereto; and

Fig. 5 is a section at right angles thereto.

In making a lath, according to my invention, I bend a sheet of diamondmesh expanded metal along longitudinal lines at a lurality of points inthe width of the lath. he lath is indicated generally by the nuineral 1,by deflecting the strands vertically v in opposite directionssubstantially perpen-'V dicular with the plane of the sheet, and onspaced lines which are parallel with the longitudinal edges of thesheet.

A convenient manner of effecting this is to pass the sheet between apair of rollers having suitably formed surfaces, which causes the sheetto assume the appearance shown in the drawing, in which there areparallel rows of substantially vertical portions indicated at 1a, whichare connected by the inclined or oblique portions of sections indicatedat 1b.

The resulting lath may be said to coinprise a plurality of longitudinalopen work sections 1b which lie in planes oblique to the general surfaceof the lath, which sections are formed of sinuous 4strands extendinglengthwise of the sections and connected together at separatedalternating points, the adjacent edges of the sections being connectedto one another by other sinuous strands extending between said adjacentedges and lying in planes substantially perpendicular to the sections,said connecting strands joining the strands of the oblique sections atseparated alternating points and securing a truss effect.

The substantially vertical portions, it will be observed, by referringparticularly to Fig. 3, are formed by deflecting the strands a and avertically along equidistant lines parallel with the edges of the sheet,and it will be seen that all portions of the ribbed sheet thus producedare of a reticulated nature and are open to the free passage of theplaster. It will also be seen that a construction is provided which isextremely Patented Mar., 29, 1921i.'

stiff and self-supporting between the joists or stu-dsor like elementsto which the lathing is attached. lt will be further seen that acontstruction is provided which'may be fastened in contact with a flatsurface where desired and so as to have the plaster material iow aroundthe same for the effective keying of the plaster thereto and which willbe self-bracing, there being no portion which can4 yield or buckle underthe pressure of the trowel in applying the plaster, such yielding beingextremely detrimental as the return of the lath to normal position afterthe pressure of the trowel is removed tends to throw olf or loosen theplaster.

lt will be further seen that my improved stii'ened sheet is practicallythe same on both sides, so that either face may be secured in position.j

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a lath having in combination, aplurality of longitudinal openwork sections, lying in planes oblique tothe general surface of the lath, said sections being formed of sinuousstrands extending lengthwise of the sections and connected together atseparated altertions being united by intervening openwork,

sections which are substantially perpendicular to the plane of thesheet.

3. As an article of manufacture an expanded metal sheet of the diamondmesh type having sections exten-ding longitudinally of the sheet andlying in planes oblique to the general plane of the adjacent edges ofsaid sections being united by sinuous strands which extend substantiallyperpendicular to the plane of the sheet.

In testimony whereof, ll aix my signature.

Witnesses:

A. J. WATSON, A. M.. HAYDEN.

